There’s no such thing as “pure chocolate,” says a European Union high court, and the phrase cannot appear on the front of candy packages. [More]
law
Lowe's Ups Chinese Drywall Settlement To $100,000 Per Victim
By 10.29.10
Instead of a few bucks and some gift cards, Lowe’s has amended its stinky Chinese drywall settlement so that plaintiffs can get up to $100,000 – money that will come in a lot more handy for people whose entire houses and most of their possessions were ruined by the sulphuric fumes. [More]
Law Firm Opens Drive-Thru Window
By 10.27.10
Instead of bricking over the drive-thru window when they set up shop inside a former Kenny Rogers Roasters, one law firm decided to keep it and offer its clients drive thru service. [More]
Buyers Unearth Old Real Estate Law To Escape Now-Crappy Home Deals
By 10.20.10
A law implemented in 1968 to protect would-be swampland purchasers is now the best friend of home buyers who went into contract at the height of the bubble and are now trying to escape paying well-above market value and get back their deposits. [More]
AGs In Every State Open Joint Foreclosure Investigations
By 10.13.10
On the heels of a massive fraudulent foreclosure document scandal, Attorneys General in all fifty states opened a joint investigation into home foreclosures, pledging to halt any and all wrongful practices at mortgage companies and banks. [More]
Zero Witnesses Back Slater's Story
By 9.9.10
Authorities have interviewed every single passenger that was on Steven Slater’s last flight, and not a single one says events went down the way he’s been describing them, according to a Port Authority police official. [More]
Calorie Count Rules Coming To Theaters, Airplanes, Convenience Stores, Supermarket Food Courts
By 8.31.10
The FDA says the law that requires restaurant chains with more than 20 locations to post calorie counts also applies to other types of businesses, reports the Wall Street Journal. Specifically, movie theaters, airplanes, trains, food courts in grocery stores, and convenience stores are all considered chains and will soon have to start following the law. The agency hasn’t made up its mind yet whether things like salad bars in grocery stores will have to fall in line. The FDA will announce official guidelines in December. [More]
Federal Court Rules Recording Your Own Conversations Ok As Long As It's Not For A Crime
By 8.24.10
In a heated dispute over how to handle a woman’s estate, the son secretly set his iPhone to record a conversation that happened between him and the other members of his family days before she passed. The stepfather tried to get it tossed out by saying it violated the Wiretap act, but the case was dismissed and also lost on appeal. This has important implications for people who are interested in recording their customer service calls. [More]
Embezzling Broker Sentenced To 6 Months Of Poker
By 8.11.10
A broker who embezzled from his clients to fund his gambling addiction will be allowed to avoid the pokie and play poker instead. [More]
Before Suing A Company In Small Claims, Look Up The "Registered Agent"
By 8.3.10
Suing a company in small claims court is fun and easy and oftentimes the company won’t even try to fight back. One thing you want to make sure to remember though is to look up the company’s “registered agent” in the state where you are filing. If you don’t serve this person with notice of the case, it could result in a dismissal. [More]
Bully Landlord Tries To Steal Security Deposit
By 7.2.10
Sara thought she was being a good tenant. She moved cities and rather than pay the stiff penalties for breaking the lease, she continued to pay rent on the old place. She even turned off the electricity before she left. Ever since she told the old landlord she won’t be renewing the lease, he’s been going all aggro on her on the phone, demanding payments for electricity she didn’t use, insinuating she’s a criminal and is still living there, and generally being a jerk. Sara wants to extricate herself from his clutches but is afraid for her $700 security deposit. What can she do? [More]
Self-Insured Premiums Jump By 20%, Triggering Warning From White House
By 6.22.10
About 10% of respondents in our informal poll yesterday about health insurance said they pay their own premiums, and according to a new poll from Kaiser Survey, three quarters of those people just faced a premium increase of 20% on average. The recent hikes have prompted the White House to say it will “sternly warn industry executives” today that insurers shouldn’t try to use the new health care law as an excuse to gouge customers, according to the New York Times. [More]
Cash4Gold Supports Regulations Proposed By Congress
By 5.12.10
Cash4Gold supports legislation designed to regulate it and its competitors, according to a letter from the company’s president, Jeff Aronson. “Cash4Gold supports HR 4501, the Guarantee of a Legitimate Deal Act, and the provisions outlined in the bill,” Aronson wrote to two congressman who are backing the bill.
Join The 24 Hour Fitness Class Action Lawsuit
By 5.3.10
If 24-Hour Fitness kept charging even after you cancelled, you might be eligible to join a class action lawsuit against them. You can join if you were debited between Oct 2, 2002 and Feb 28, 2010. You could get $20 back, or, in a perhaps ironic twist, a three month gift certificate to 24-Hour Fitnesss.
Friedman, et al. v. 24 Hour Fitness USA [via Top Class Actions]
Here Are America's Most Corrupt Industries
By 4.28.10
Do you work in a corrupt industry? The Daily Beast took a look at data gathered by Transparency International, a “global anti-corruption think tank,” and put together a list of America’s most corrupt professions. Everyone may be hating on Wall Street right now, but the worst offenders according to the criteria used are utilities. In second and third place were Wall Street and telecommunications, and media came in fifth, well before banking, insurance, or retail. [More]
Supreme Court Doesn't Know Difference Between Email And A Pager
By 4.20.10
Better hope your technorights-based lawsuit doesn’t make it all the way to the US Court of Last Resort, because these august judges might not have a freakin’ clue of what’s going on. Turns out they don’t know the difference between email and a pager, among other things. [More]
"Help, Equifax Won't Give Me My Credit Report!"
By 4.14.10
A reader just had his credit limit lowered on a credit card due to some bad credit history that he says isn’t his. He’d like to see what’s going on with his credit report, but Equifax says he’ll have to pay for the privilege, because they have no record of any inquiries in the past 60 days. The reader asks, “Has this happened to anyone else, where a credit card company waited over 60 days to notify them of credit limit reductions? Also, does this violate the FCRA?” [More]
Health Care Reform Is Also Tax Reform: Here Are Some Changes
By 3.24.10
Kiplinger tracked down the tax implications of the health care reform bill Barack Obama signed into law Tuesday. [More]
